"Baseball is a very funny game," Guthrie said. "This is a very ironic way to pick up a win after a long stretch -- not pitch very well, not pitch too deep in the game, but do enough to help the team win."

Guthrie (3-6) allowed two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. Before Friday, he had gone at least seven innings in four of his last five games. His last win was on April 9, against Tampa Bay.

"This is probably the worst game he's had in this streak," Royals manager Ned Yost said.

The right-hander had pitched well enough to win on several occasions, but received the lowest run support in the AL (2.59) during that span.

That wasn't an issue Friday.

Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler each had two RBIs, including a run-scoring single in the first inning, for Kansas City.

Jose Quintana (3-7) never recovered from the slow start, allowing six runs and eight hits in six innings.

"I didn't come out aggressive enough," Guthrie said. "A couple of walks and I loaded the bases in the second. I was very fortunate to get out of the first two innings with just a couple of runs and then I was able to settle down down the stretch."

The starters then settled down and neither team scored over the next four innings.

"He was at 74 pitches through three and I was like, `OK, if you can just get us through five with the lead, that's going to be a heck of a job," Brewers manager Ned Yost said of Guthrie. "He ended up throwing 14 pitches in the fourth inning, six pitches in the fifth and got two outs in the sixth."

Kansas City added a run in the seventh on Hosmer's run-scoring single to make it 7-2.

Game notes

Royals SS Alcides Escobar left the game in the eighth inning with a cramp in the left calf. "If he feels tightness tomorrow, we'll probably give him the day off," Yost said. .The White Sox have signed RHP Henry Rodriguez to a minor league contract. Rodriguez, released by Miami earlier this season, has been assigned to Triple-A Charlotte and will begin on the DL. ... The last time LHP Chris Sale had a high pitch count he landed on the DL for a month, but Ventura had no problems with the Chicago ace throwing 116 on Thursday. "He felt great going there and he didn't have that inning where he really had to fight through it and battle," Ventura said. ... LHP Danny Duffy (3-5) takes on RHP Hector Noesi (2-4) in the second game of the series Saturday.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

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CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 13: Jose Quintana #62 of the Chicago White Sox delivers a pitch during the first inning...